D16 Group 4 Ling Jin Tang 灵晋堂

GES1005/SSA1208 Everyday Life of Chinese Singaporeans: Past & Present

Temple Visit Report

Temple ID: D16 Group 4 Ling Jin Tang 灵晋堂

Tutorial D16 / Group 4

Lee Yi Ru Yoyo Jazreel Chua Jie Hui Lim Wei Shan Sandy Table of Contents Introduction ...... 1 History of Ling Jin Tang ...... 1 Founding ...... 1 Relocation & Reconstruction ...... 1 Affiliations with other temples ...... 2 Current status of Ling Jin Tang ...... 2 Deities & Gods ...... 2 Main Deity ...... 2 Secondary Deities ...... 2 Temple Artifacts ...... 3 Praying Sequence ...... 4 Rituals & Celebrations ...... 4 Celebration for Main God ...... 4 Reflection & Conclusion ...... 5 Appendices ...... 6

Introduction Ling Jin Tang is one of the temples in Jurong United Temple with four other temples which are Guan Shan Dian, Shui Gou Guan, Xi Shan Gong and Long Xu Yan. Despite being situated together as a united temple, each individual temple operates independently in terms of their rituals, celebrations, funding, volunteers and committee members. Nonetheless, joint celebrations for commonly worshipped Gods may be held. This is done by using moon blocks to get an answer from the God.

Statues of Gods from the temples are all placed in the main hall and are separated according to the lines of the tiles. We realized that Ling Jin Tang is the main temple as it is located in the middle.

History of Ling Jin Tang Founding The roots of Ling Jin Tang can be traced back to its original temple at China, Fujian Province, Quanzhou City, Nan'an Pengchuang Village. In 1915, Mr Huang Zhang Dun brought the ashes of the joss stick from Ling Jin Tang in China to Singapore, which was first settled behind Four Ya Lang Che Jian (四芽廊车间 后) at Jurong 10th milestone. Followers of Ling Jing Tang combined their efforts to erect simple structures for the temple and theatre stage using wooden planks and nipa palm leaves. From then, the temple gradually gained popularity and expanded. The temple underwent a series of renovations to improve its amenities. In 1949, the roof of the temple was reconstructed with zinc plate and in 1973, the empty field in front of the temple was constructed with a layer of concrete. During War World II, the Japanese army attempted to bomb the area around Jurong Road 10th Milestone but were unable to identify a target while airborne. After the Japanese surrendered, soldiers who were on the plane visited the area to verify whether it was land or sea, and were surprised to have found that it was land. It was thus believed that the temples located in that area are sources of blessings. Relocation & Reconstruction When the land was expropriated by the government in 1979, the relocation and reconstruction of the temple was initiated and led by 23 worshippers from Ling Jin Tang. In collaboration with Qiong Yao Jiao Di, that also faced the same issue, worshippers applied for a plot of land under the government. During this period, two other temples located along the same street, Long Xu Yan and Guan Shan Dian, had also been invited by Ling Jin Tang to join.

The temple was fully constructed in 1985. Under the agreement of Qiong Yao Jiao Di, the name of the new temple was registered as Jurong United Temple. Deities of the respective temples ascended in Jurong United Temple on 27 September 1985, which is the thirteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar.

1 In 2003, representatives of Xi Shan Gong requested to join Jurong United Temple and the committee of Ling Jin Tang gave approval on 8th April. A consecration ceremony was held on 20th April for the Gods of Xi Shan Gong.

The temple applied for the lease to be extended for another 30 years due to their expiration of their 30- year lease in 2011. This amounted to a yearly rental of $1,200,000, half of which are beared by Qiong Yao Jiao Di. The remaining expenses were split amongst the five temples under Jurong United Temple. Ling Jin Tang and Shui Gou Guan, combined, sharing 30% of the costs. Contributions by the two temples are shared as Lord Jin of Shui Gou Guan has long been worshipped under Ling Jin Tang. Guan Shan Dian contributes to 30% of the fees. Lastly, Long Xu Yan and Xi Shan Gong each contribute to 20% of the total fee.

In 2013, the reconstruction of Jurong United Temple was completed. The Reconsecration Ceremony for the five temples was held on 25th December that year. Affiliations with other temples There are other similar temples in other parts of the countries but there is no affiliation with them. However, they do organize trips to China to visit the mother temple. Current status of Ling Jin Tang There are a total of 80 members in the committee approximately. The committee comprises of the Chairman, secretary, treasurer, public relations, general affairs, audit and a panel of honorary and legal advisors.

Deities & Gods Main Deity The deities found in Ling Jin Tang are not commonly prayed to in other Taoist temples. As explained by the person in charge of Ling Jin Tang, he describes the deities as Zor Put in Hokkien., clarifiying that Zor Put is not analogous to one’s ancestor; it is in fact of a higher regard than the ancestor.

The main deity of Ling Jin Tang is Lord Sun (孫府大人) and the secondary deities are Lord Chi (池府大 人) and Lord She(佘府大人). Lord Sun was a doctor who had accumulated merit by saving numerous lives.

Lord Jin (金府大人) of Shui Gou Guan is also managed by the committee of Ling Jin Tang. Ever since the representatives of Shui Gou Guan passed away before the government took over the land in 1979, Lord Jin had since been worshipped under Ling Jin Tang. Secondary Deities The table below shows the other deities that are commonly worshipped in Jurong United Temple.

2 Name of Deity Chinese name of Deity Reason for worshipping as explained Da Bo Gong 大伯公 - To pray for peace and good fortune Dang Nian Tai Sui 当年太岁 when zodiac sign clashes with Tai-Sui ( 太岁) of that year

Wenchang Wang 文昌王 To pray for good grades General of the Black Command 黑令将军 Guardian of the Temple ground To ward off vile characters (小人) and White Tiger God 白虎爷（下坛元帥） also to win lottery Five Battalion Commanders 五营神将 Guardian of the Temple ground

Temple Artifacts

Censer There are a total of six censers found in the temple according to the praying sequence.

Plaque There are two plaques located near the entrance of the main hall. The first plaque is about

the history of Ling Jin Tang as shown in Appendix C. The second plaque lists the names of committee members who contributed to the reconstruction of temple in 1980 as show in Appendix E. There is another plaque located inside the main hall that records the names of those who had donated above $500 for the renovation of temple over the years of 2008 to 2013 as shown in Appendix E.

Couplets Couplets are located at the entrance of the main hall as shown in Appendix F. Words on the

couplets are translated as ‘God’s power is vast and mighty which bring good health to the people, temple’s appearance is majestic in the celebration of peace’

Inscribed There are a total of four columns with carvings of dragon and phoenix. The dragon Beam represents “yang” while phoenix represents “yin”, and when brought together, they

symbolise everlasting happiness.

Donation A donation box is located in the main hall of the temple with the four words, Guang Zhong box Fu Tian (广种福田), which means to do a lot of good deeds.

Doors Red lacquered doors in accordance with traditional Tang Dynasty doors and golden spheres on the door are for good luck.

Lanterns Lanterns hung outside the entrance of the main hall are to bless and protect one’s family.

3 The lanterns also signify blessing the family with fortune and with a son to carry on the family name. During Lunar New Year, the lanterns will be removed to make way for new lanterns for the brand new year.

Praying Sequence The following praying sequence applies for all the five temples under Jurong United Temple. There are labels located near the censer with information of the praying sequence and the number of joss sticks required for each step.

Number of joss sticks Sequence Location Deities prayed to required

Prayer table outside of 1 Tian Gong 3 main hall

2 Deities of the 5 temples 3

Prayer table inside of Da Bo Gong, Dang Nian Tai Sui 3 3 main hall and Wenchang Wang

4 Five Battalion Commanders 5

5 Censer at courtyard of General of the Black Command 5 6 the temple White Tiger God 3

Rituals & Celebrations Celebration for Main God Deities worshipped under Ling Jin Tang share the same birthdays, which fall on 13th and 14th of the 8th month on the Chinese calendar, and major celebrations are held to commemorate the birthdays. Celebration would usually include the celebration for Lord Jin, even though it falls on the 9th day of the 8th month.

We attended the third day of the celebration which was held over 29th September to 2nd October, lasting for a total of four days. By personally experiencing the celebrations, we were able to better understand the ceremonial proceedings that took place during the celebration. Based on observation, it is known that on the second day of celebration, the invitation of Tian Gong was carried out and a vegetarian feast was held at 9pm.

A stage was elaborately set-up at the courtyard of the temple for offerings specifically to Tian Gong. It was observed that many adjustments had been made to the prayer tables due to space constraint, as seen in Appendix H. Offerings to the other deities of Ling Jin Tang were found at the three banquet tables that

4 were placed in the main hall. Worshippers were also allowed to bring offerings for the deities which included meat, and were placed near the prayer table.

Another feature of the celebrations was the puppet show. The stage for the puppet show was located out of the temple boundary, but facing the temple. As the main purpose of the show was to entertain the gods, there was limited space for people to stand around. We observed that only one puppet had a label on it. Puppeteers explained that the three puppets on the left (as shown in Appendix H) represents Fu, Lu and Shou. Since a puppet with black beard was used to represent Shou, who is usually portrayed with a white beard, it was necessary for them to label the puppet.

Contributions by the worshippers were also conveyed during the celebration. A ceremony was specially performed by the Taoist priest to inform deities of the names of companies and people who had made contributions to the celebration. Name tags were also placed in front of the Dragon joss sticks, stating the name of the worshipper who brought it as offering for the deities of Ling Jin Tang.

Tian Gong was lastly sent off and a spirit medium was also arranged for worshippers to consult on issues they would like to ask the God. At night, Gods of other temples were also invited to join in the celebration. With that, it marked the end of the third day of celebrations for the deities of Ling Jin Tang.

Reflection & Conclusion In conclusion, the visit to Ling Jin Tang was an insightful experience as we had the opportunity to clarify and better understand and appreciate the practices and artifacts in the temple. It was a rare chance for us to observe and learn more about various aspects of the temple that we might have been taken for granted.

We were delighted to have visited a united temple for the first time. Each temple prays to different main and secondary Gods, yet the temples are able to co-exist harmoniously. This reminds us of the Daniel Goh’s article, In Place of Ritual. Worshippers had a choice of praying to only one temple, but worshippers still pray as a whole in the same spatial area, as if they were as real as the god that they believe in.

Members of the temple committee have expressed their concerns on not having enough young people joining them due to their lack of interest. This will concern the longevity of the temple as fresh blood will be required in the committee to manage the operation of the temple.

Lastly, as we attempted to obtain more information on Ling Jin Tang, it was a pity that most of the history were unclear or have been forgotten. Hence, it was unfortunate that we were unable to record the fragments of history that have been lost. This also serves as a reminder on the importance of detailing present events, to ensure that these valuable stories are passed down to the future generations.

5 Appendices

Appendix A - Photos of the temples Appendix B – Layout plan of the temple Appendix C - Plaques with the history of Ling Jin Tang Appendix D – Statues of the Deities Appendix E – Plaques Appendix F – Temple Artifacts Appendix G – Praying Sequence Appendix H – Celebrations Photos Appendix I - Dates of Celebrations for Jurong United Temple Appendix J - Experience/ the difficulties you encountered during the temple visit

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